1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking device in general, and more specifically, to a drawer type cooking device in which a drawer body storing an object to be heated is capable of being drawn out from within a cooking device body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cooking devices having a drawer body formed integrally with a door capable of being drawn out to the front side of the cooking device have been proposed. Since such drawer type cooking devices can be built into the space below the countertop of kitchens, the cooking devices can be installed without occupying the space above the countertop used for preparation of cooking or for the actual cooking, they are suitably adopted in kitchen arrangements where multiple cooking devices are arranged three-dimensionally. The drawer type cooking devices are positioned as one of the cooking equipment constituting fitted kitchens or designed kitchens, and the use thereof is spreading widely, especially in the United States.
The present applicant has proposed a drawer type cooking device as one example of a drawer type microwave oven comprising a cooking device body having a heating chamber, a drawer body capable of being moved within the cooking device body so as to be drawn out to the exterior from within the heating chamber of the cooking device body, and a slide rail for moving the drawer body within the cooking device body, wherein the slide rail is disposed outside the heating chamber, so that the slide mechanism does not have to be formed of members or materials having high heat resistance and flame resistance, and the occurrence of discharge failure due to microwave can be prevented (patent document 1: Japanese patent application laid-open publication No. 2005-221081).
One example of a prior art built-in cooking device is shown in FIGS. 4 through 6. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing one example of the built-in cooking device to which the prior art drawer type cooking device is applied, FIG. 5 is a side view of the built-in cooking device shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the built-in cooking device of FIG. 4 with the drawer body drawn out.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the built-in cooking device comprises a cooking device body 1 having overall rectangular shape, a door 2a capable of having a drawer body 2 drawn out from the cooking device body 1 via a slide mechanism 9 including a movable rail 10 and being disposed on the front side of the cooking device body 1 so as to close the heating chamber 6, an operation panel disposed on the front side of the cooking device body 1 above the door 2a, and a power supply cord 4 extending from a connection portion 7 disposed on a farthest portion of the cooking device body 1.
The drawer body 2 has a door 2a disposed on the front side thereof, and further comprises a table for mounting an object to be cooked and a wall portion 12 surrounding the same. The cooking device is a built-in device, and as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, it is assembled to a kitchen cabinet 5 having a cooking top 5a formed on the upper side thereof. The control panel 3 according to the present example is disposed integrally with the cooking device body 1, so that the door 2a can be drawn out independently from the control panel 3. FIG. 6 shows the state in which the door 2a is drawn out.
Cooking devices such as microwave ovens that use electric power must have a power supply cord 4 extending from the cooking device plugged into an outlet to obtain power from commercial power supplies and the like. According to a cooking device built-in from the front side, the device is being built-in with the power supply cord 4 disposed on the rear side 1a of the cooking device body 1 connected to a connecting portion 7, so that the cord must have at least a length corresponding to the depth of the cooking device body 1 from the rear side 1a of the cooking device body 1 to the connecting portion 7. Since the periphery of the built-in cooking device is surrounded by other cooking equipment or a casing, the power supply cord 4 must be stored in the external space outside the cooking device body formed between the rear side 1a of the cooking device body 1 and a back wall 5c of the kitchen cabinet 5 at the rear side of the heating chamber 6, in which space the cord is bent in a manner folded from the extended state. According to this type of storing method of the power supply cord 4, the power cord may easily be sandwiched in the gap between the farthest portion of the cooking device body 1 and the kitchen cabinet 5, which may lead to damage of the cord. Therefore, the present applicant has proposed a method of forming a storage space for storing the power supply cord between the ceiling panel of the cooking device body and the ceiling of the cabinet (patent document 2: Japanese patent application laid-open publication No. 2006-223336).
As described in the document, since not enough outer space can be ensured between the rear side of the set and the back of the kitchen cabinet according to the prior art, the power supply cord 4 is stored on the ceiling panel of the set during build-in operation of the cooking device, instead of bending and folding the cord from the extended state and hanging it in the external space of the cooking device body. According to the arrangement, a space for storing the excess portion of the power supply cable that occurs after storing the device so as to prevent the cable from being sandwiched between the farthest portion of the casing and the cabinet is required, and therefore, the casing structure can be overlapped.
FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate the arrangement of electric components at the farthest portion of a prior-art built-in cooking device. FIG. 7A is a right side view, and FIG. 7B is a rear view thereof. Various electric components for activating the electrically-operated cooking device are arranged at the farthest portion 8. The electric components include, as described above, a magnetron 54 as a high frequency generation device, a high pressure transformer 55, a high pressure capacitor, and a fan motor 56 for driving a cooling fan 56a. 
Traditional cooking devices on countertop are almost without exception supplied with air inlet and outlet over back panel and side panels of the outer cabinet, taking in air through air inlet for the purpose of cooling electrical components and others, and discharging through air outlet hot air with vapor emitting from foods cooked to be scattered into the thin kitchen air. Such configuration in design to place such air inlet and outlet over insignificant areas of the cabinet to counterpart inner configurations requires only ordinary engineering skills and practices. On the other hand, built-in cooking devices are allowed to take in and discharge air only by way of limited square inches that could be spared apparently on the front surface, posing design challenges toward specialists in the trade to decide upon cooking device configurations.
Therefore, built-in cooking devices as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B intend to cope with configuration of taking in and discharging air that is applicable to built-in installations as follows:
A lower end portion 59 disposed below the heating chamber 3 of the cooking device body 1 constitutes a bottom surface air inlet and outlet duct structure communicated with the front side air inlet 63. A fan motor 56 for driving a cooling fan 56a which is a electric component is disposed at the farthest portion 8 of the cooking device body 51. The fan motor 56 is positioned vertically (with the rotation axis positioned horizontally). When the fan motor 56 is activated, outside air is sucked in through the air inlet 63 via the bottom surface air inlet and outlet duct structure and flown in the direction of the arrow, where the cooling air is temporarily sent out to the outer space through the opening formed on the back wall of the cooking device body, and then sucked in again through an appropriate opening formed on the back wall of the cooking device body 51 into the cooking device body 51 to reach the farthest portion 8, to thereby cool the heat-generating electric components such as the high pressure transformer 55, the high pressure capacitor and the circuit board. The cooling air inside the farthest portion 8 is further blown into the interior of the cooking device body 1 via the fan motor 56. In other words, a portion of the air being sent out via the fan motor 56 cools the magnetron 54 which is an electric component functioning as a high frequency generation device, flows into the heating chamber 6, and then flows through the heating chamber air outlet duct and is discharged to the exterior.
As described, according to the prior art built-in cooking device, it was impossible to store all the paths through which cooling air flow passes within the cooking device body, in order for the depth of the cooking device body to be stored within the determined limited space. As a result, the air blow path was detoured to pass the space outside the cooking device body as a trade-off for realizing the desired cooking body depth, though the path seems irrational as an air blow path based on the knowledge of those in the field of art. According to the above-mentioned air blow path, the cross-sectional area of the air blow path was varied greatly, so that it was difficult to increase the air blow volume, and since the arrangement caused great pressure loss, there was great air blow loss and the air blow efficiency of the cooling fan 56a was deteriorated. Therefore, it is a challenge to further reduce the depth of the cooking device, correct the irrational air blow path and thereby improve the air blow efficiency of the cooling fan 56a. 
Further, regarding the trend of interior designs, kitchens composed of built-in equipment having no protruded portions are highly evaluated, but according to the prior art drawer type cooking device, it was impossible to form the front door of the device to be flush with the front panel of the cabinet since the rear portion of the casing constituting the cooking device body was supported at the back of the cabinet, so that the door portion was protruded from the front panel of the cabinet. Therefore, there were cases where even if the functions of the cooking device were highly evaluated, the device was not adopted in fitted kitchens or designed kitchens since the design thereof did not match the interior design of the kitchens. As described, the drawer type microwave oven as an example of a drawer type cooking device belongs to a field of cooking devices where there is no price competition and where high added value is demanded, so that the drawer type microwave must answer to design expectations from users putting weight on realizing a kitchen with a unified interior design, and must provide superior specifications so as not to disappoint the users having high expectations on the performance and structure of the device.
As for physical structural conditions, the heating chamber of the cooking device must have a structure enabling food and drinks favored by the users to be heated in a smooth manner, and the height of the ceiling of the heating chamber must enable ready-made containers and mug cups offered by various fast food shops and coffee shops to be easily stored therein. Furthermore, regarding the size of the bottom surface of the heating chamber, in Japan, the chamber must be able to store packed lunches sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and other shops, while in the United States, the chamber must be able to at least store a pizza box offered by popular pizza shops. As described, the most important design challenge in this field of art is to have full knowledge of the size of the heating chamber desired by the user, and to ensure the minimum allowable heating chamber size.
The present inventors having overcome the prior art challenge of enabling a drawer type cooking device to be built into kitchen cabinets have gained the position as a manufacturer providing the one and only microwave oven that can be built into kitchen cabinets, but now face a new challenge of realizing higher performance and improved structure.
The problem to be solved according to the present invention is to devise the position and orientation of electric components disposed in a concentrated manner at the farthest portion on the rear side of the cooking device so as to reduce the depth size of the farthest portion while maintaining the opening size of the chamber when the door is drawn out, and to enable the cooking device to be completely stored within the cabinet.
The object of the present invention is to provide a drawer type cooking device having reduced the depth size of the farthest portion of the cooking device, so as to enable the cooking device to be completely embedded in the cabinet without reducing the opening size of the heating chamber when the door is completely drawn out, to thereby enable the front panel of the door to be flush with the front panel of the cabinet, enhance the flatness of the built-in device and improve the interior design property of the device.